Traveling Solo Doesn’t Need to Mean SOLO
I graduated from college in 2018 without doing a study abroad program. People who know me now are SHOCKED to hear that I never studied abroad. But the truth is, I have always had some anxiety around certain social situations. I grew up being scared of sleepovers; parties could make me anxious, and walking into a room where I didn’t know anyone was definitely not my idea of fun. So while I loved the idea of traveling, the social side of group travel was intimidating. (I also was dealing a lot with my health throughout undergrad, and being out of the country for extended periods of time was not an option either. )What I’ve learned as an adult, though, is that group travel puts you in a boat with a bunch of people who are often there for the same reasons you are: they want to see the world, learn something new, and meet people along the way.
After I graduated I felt like I missed out and I knew I wanted to travel. I also knew I didn’t want a big “party” tour and at the time. companies such as GAdventures or EF were not as well known. Then, I remembered an email from a local professor landing in my college inbox. Enter… International Centre for Exploration and Education. This was a small, education-based travel group founded by Dr. Keith Phillips. He and his wife, Diane, led small-group trips with a maximum of 12 participants. This is the group I traveled to Australia with! It was my second time doing a group tour (third if you count when I lived on a tall ship), but this one was different: it was my first time traveling without knowing ANYBODY. I was literally flying across the world, landing in the Outback, and had no idea who I would be spending the next month with.
This trip was amazing! Now, I must admit, the seven other travelers were not always my cup of tea (i.e., they liked to stay up late and drink), but I learned that I could be part of the group while still doing what worked for me, including going to bed early! It was scary at first to “go against” the crowd, but I quickly learned that being kind and confident about what you want goes a long way. And that is something I have carried with me on every group trip since: you don’t have to perfectly match everyone in your group to have an incredible experience. You can participate when you want, step away when you need to, and still be part of the adventure. Keep in mind, this was in my early 20s, and the company is no longer in operation, but I wanted to include it because it was my first real glimpse into what traveling with a group of strangers could look like, and proof that I could actually do it.
Historical Travel Society is the travel group that has been the most life-changing for me and the one I resonate with the most. It was founded by Emily Glankler (@antisocialstudies) and Emily Neinast (@historicallyemily).
I first came across one of the Emilies’ TikToks in July 2024 and reached out, but at that point, I wasn’t sure I was ready to jump into the world of “adult group travel.” Remember: I definitely have anxiety when it comes to new social situations. But with some encouragement from my then-coworkers, I signed up for their second Peru trip in July 2025. That trip was life-changing for SO many reasons. One: meeting the Emilies, duh! Both are such incredible wealths of knowledge when it comes to history, travel, and honestly just life—but they’re also just really cool humans. More importantly, the trip completely opened my eyes to the fact that adult group travel really is AWESOME. Unlike traveling with a school or college program, you really are an adult (duh!). You can do your own thing when you want, participate in as much or as little as you’d like, and still have the opportunity to make genuinely good, like-minded friends. Plus, you get to explore places you might not feel comfortable navigating completely on your own. I’ll be traveling with HTS again to New Orleans, Mexico, Greece, and the Balkans. Yes, I will be seeing a LOT of “The Emilies” over the next nine-ish months, along with so many friends I’ve met through HTS. That is how much I love them!!!
As of this post, I have also been on two trips with EF Ultimate Break, which is part of EF Education First and offers group trips for travelers ages 18–35. In July 2026, I went with my sister on Japan: Tokyo & Beyond, and in August/September 2026, I went solo on Germany, Italy & Switzerland—though, despite the name, that trip also includes Austria and Liechtenstein. In September 2027, I’ll be going on their new trip, China Quest: Ancient Wonders & Modern Marvels, with two friends I met on the Europe trip! While the Japan trip wasn’t completely solo (à la my sister), there were plenty of solo travelers in our group. Traveling together also gave my sister and me the best of both worlds: we had each other (and a known entity) when it came to roommates! But we could still branch out and do our own thing. There were even a few activities where each of us went off separately with other travelers from the group.
My August/September Europe trip, though, was truly solo. I’ll admit that I paid a little extra to have my own room because I was nervous about the roommate situation. Once the trip got going, I realized I honestly probably never needed it. The girl who would have been my roommate was amazing! I walked away from that trip with five really good friends. We all still stay in touch; we’re planning a weekend getaway together, and two of them are joining me in China next year. Now, before you say, “OK, great, but it’s hard for me to get out of my bubble and meet new people.” DUDE, I GET IT!!! I have so much social anxiety when meeting new people. One of the BEST pieces of advice I’ve picked up along the way is incredibly simple: if you notice something about someone that you like, tell them. Compliment their shoes. Ask where they got their bag. Tell them you love their outfit. It gives you an instant opening to start a conversation, and that is seriously how I started so many conversations during my Europe trip.
Use this link to get $100 off your EF Ultimate Break trip!
Another site I use all the time, whether I’m traveling solo, with friends, or on a group trip, is Viator. This is not sponsored by Viator at all; I just genuinely think it’s an easy way to find activities, read real reviews, and book experiences without having to piece everything together yourself. (Okay, that sounded REALLY sponsored, but I promise it’s not!!) I’ve booked almost 40 different activities with them. This includes some excellent airport transfers! Some of my favorite activities are linked here.
So does solo travel always mean solo? Absolutely not, and I think that is the biggest thing I’ve learned through all of this.
When I say I’m traveling “solo,” that often just means I’m getting on the plane by myself. It doesn’t mean I’m spending every meal alone, navigating every new place alone, or going days without talking to another person. Some of my favorite travel memories (and some of my closest travel friendships) have come from trips I signed up for solo, but as part of a group.
Adult group travel has given me a way to have the independence I love about traveling on my own while still having people to share the experience with. I can book the trip I want without waiting for someone else’s schedule, budget, or PTO to line up with mine. Then I show up and suddenly have a group of people who also chose to spend their time and money exploring that same part of the world. And group travel isn’t the only way to do this! Even when I’m planning a trip completely on my own, I love booking day trips and experiences through sites like Viator. You might spend a day exploring with the same small group, meet someone on a walking tour, join a cooking class, or end up talking to the person sitting next to you on the bus. You can build little pockets of community into an otherwise independent trip. Trust me… on this past Europe trip I’ve met plenty of nice “characters.” Including a new friend from Australia!
You also don’t have to become best friends with everyone you meet. Sometimes you will click with people and stay in touch long after you get home. Sometimes you’ll have a great conversation with someone you never see again. And sometimes your group simply gives you people to eat dinner and explore with for a week. All of those experiences count. So, if there is somewhere you really want to go but you keep waiting for someone to go with you, maybe the answer isn’t finding someone to go with, it is signing up and GOING!